31 MARCH 2015

Brooklyn's Stevens to Challenge Golovkin

Golovkin flexes his muscles

Boxing’s fastest rising superstar Gennady “GGG” Golovkin will defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organization (IBO) Middleweight World Titles against world ranked contender Curtis Stevens on Saturday, Nov. 2 from The Theater at Madison Square Garden, “The Mecca of Boxing.” The fight will be televised Live on HBO®.

Presented by K2 Promotions in association with Main Events and Madison Square Garden, tickets for this highly anticipated showdown will go on sale Wednesday, September 4 at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.thegarden.com

“We’re very excited to announce the return of Gennady Golovkin to Madison Square Garden. We believe he’s the best middleweight in the world and look forward to him proving that in the ring again on November 2,” said Tom Loeffler, Managing Director of K2 Promotions.

“Curtis Stevens has had a number of impressive performances and has been very vocal in wanting to challenge the most feared middleweight. We commend him on taking this fight, a challenge many other highly regarded middleweights are unwilling to consider.”

"Curtis was watching at ringside the night that Golovkin fought Matthew Macklin. Immediately afterwards he called and asked us to make the fight," said Kathy Duva, President of Main Events. “We knew we had to get it done. The two biggest punchers in the middleweight division will come head to head - don’t blink! November 2nd on HBO will be a great night for all boxing fans."

Said Golovkin, “I am happy to fight in front of the boxing fans in New York City again. Madison Square Garden is a very special place for me. I will put on my best performance and defend my titles once again in this great city. “

"November 2nd is my turn to shine and that night I am going to be GREAT. The WBA belt is coming home to Brooklyn,” commented Stevens about the clash.

“Madison Square Garden is excited to bring back middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and on the cusp of superstardom in the sport,” said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, MSG Sports Propertiesand Arena Transformation. “The Garden strives to bring the brightest young stars of the sport to our fans, and Gennady is all that and more. His opponent, Curtis Stevens, returns for his third fight at The Garden, and he will have his hometown fans from Brooklyn cheering him on. We expect a great night of boxing at The Garden.”

“Fight fans everywhere need to circle November 2 on their calendars because Gennady Golovkin and Curtis Stevens are going to light it up that night in the Theater at Madison Square Garden,” said Peter Nelson, director of programming, HBO Sports. “We are delighted to present this exciting middleweight title showdown from New York City. The atmosphere will be electric that night.”

Golovkin has the highest knockout ratio of any active world champion (89%) with a record of 27-0-0 (24KO’s). He has burst on to the international boxing scene with four sensational knockouts over the last twelve months. His bout against Stevens will be the ninth defense of his WBA title.

Fighting out of his native Brooklyn, New York, the 28-year-old Stevens, 25-3-0 (18KO’s), is coming off his most impressive performance of his career with a stunning first round knockout of durable veteran, Saul Roman on AUGUST 3.

Stevens’ clash with Golovkin will also be his fourth start of the year.

A mainstay of New York City boxing, the heavy-hitting Stevens first shined as an amateur, amassing the third most knockouts in New York State history.